Ohio State AD: No "Full-Blown Investigation" Into Barrett Injury, Guilty Cameraman
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Ohio State will not be following through on Urban Meyer's promise.
Athletic director Gene Smith told ESPN on Monday that the school will not attempt to identify the cameraman who bumped into J.T. Barrett's knee before Saturday's win over Michigan, despite Meyer threatening an "all-out investigation" after the game.
"We're not doing a full-blown investigation to find the photographer," Smith said. "We're looking at what things led up to that."
The incident, which aggravated an injury Barrett has been dealing with throughout the season and later forced the star quarterback out of the game, was the result of an overcrowded sideline during warmups. Smith said Ohio State has submitted its account of the incident to the Big 10 in an effort to improve game-day operations.
"The conference office asked us for our account of what happened," Smith said. "The conference office is gathering data. That's the extent of it. The outcome of it will ultimately be improved operations. There's no attempt to try and find a person. The attempt is to find out what happened, what corrective measures we need to put in place. Urban has decided, which I agree with, that we have too many inside the box."
At his Monday press conference, Meyer said, "Sidelines have gotten — it's too much now. I know I can speak on behalf of our sideline, and I'm disappointed," he said.
The Big 10 athletic directors next convene in February.
"This is not a resolution to an investigation, I want to be clear," Smith said, "it's a resolution to how we better manage our operations on the field."
Asked on Monday if Michigan had provided any clarification on the unidentified cameraman, Meyer said, "That's all administrative. I made a comment that they should look into it, and I guess that blew up and all that, and they should. The quarterback got hit on the sideline before the game. But I trust that all the right people will look into it."
